The weather is improving by leaps and bounds in Austin. That helps ameliorate the fact that I missed several things I wanted to do today.
First off, I slept until 2 Sunday afternoon. I guess I needed it. None of the sessions I had planned on before that seemed too important, and my bed here at the Embassy Suites is awfully comfy. I then took the hotel shuttle over to Champions, a restaurant kitty-corner from the Convention Center, where I had a "Frito Pie," a mess of Fritos, chili and cheese. Mostly Fritos. Tasty, but I would have preferred more chili. I then high-tailed it over to my first event of the day:
"Old Media Finds a New Voice Through Twitter." This is the most job-related session of the whole Interactive part of SXSW. The one that first told me this convention was for me. I arrived to find the small room for that conference closed, with a volunteer standing guard. It was full. Dammit.
So instead, I headed to the beautiful and historic Paramount Theatre, to see "American Violet." The film tells the true story of a poor young African American woman falsely accused of dealing drugs, and her refusal to accept a plea bargain that would have crippled her ability to make a living. Nicole Beharie stars, with Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Michael O'Keefe, Xzibit, Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard. I met Patton and Associate Producer Debra Longo in line the night before for another film. They have much to be proud of here.
When that film was over, I headed to another theater to see "Modern Love is Automatic." The movie shuttle bus took forever to come, and by the time I arrived at the Ritz, the audience was full. Again, entry rejected!
So instead, I went to the SXSW Web Awards. Most of the sites nominated were ones I have never heard of. My favorite tech site Ars Techica lost to Flickr. Bummer.
I eventually ended up at the
Bacon-Flavored Interactive Party. A bizarre rap group called Bacon Shoe performed; they are described as "insane nerdcore freaks" in the invitation. Who am I to disagree? I met the director of PBS Interactive, Jayme Swain, and a colleague of hers, Jonathan Coffman. Nice folks, and Jayme won some bacon. I stayed at that party much longer than I would have normally, because I was in a raffle for a guitar (I didn't win). After that, my feet were pretty sore and I headed back to the hotel for some blogging. I leave you now with a link to an exerpt of Bacon Shoe's performance. Maybe you'll enjoy it. Probably not.
Bacon Shoe from David Fell on Vimeo.

Leave a comment